Contentions

Drudge is now reporting that Egypt’s president Mubarak has declared, “Not Egypt nor any other Arab country would accept Israel as a Jewish state.” This is further proof, if any were needed, that the Arab world is gripped by fear. Even if Mubarak were disposed to accept Israel as a Jewish state (a huge “if”), he’s constrained from doing so by his memory of what happened to Anwar Sadat when Sadat made nice with Israel. The threat of Muslim Brotherhood reprisal hangs heavy over Egyptian society, just as the threat of reprisal by other jihadi groups hangs heavy over other Arab countries. The threat of violence, reinforced by an occasional assassination, is all it takes to keep Arabs from even thinking about making peace.